Tuesday, 1 March 2011

Brain Teaser

Who am I quoting here?

'I believe that consciousness creates the illusion of individuation, the false feeling of being separate. In other words, I am aware, ergo I am alone. I further believe that this existential misunderstanding is the prime motivating force for the neurotic compulsion to blot out consciousness. This explains the paradox of our culture, which celebrates the ego while simultaneously promoting its evisceration with drugs and alcohol. It also clarifies our deep-seated fear of monolithic, one-minded systems like communism, religious fundamentalism, zombies and invaders from Mars. Each one is a dark echo of an oceanic state of unifying transcendence from which consciousness must, by nature, flee. The Fall from Grace is, in fact, a Sprint from Grace...'

Any guesses? I shall return shortly to reveal the somewhat surprising answer.

3 comments:

  1. It's either Descartes or Sid Waddell.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Startling insights; remarkable profundity; astonishing cohesiveness of argument, and a rare level of understanding of the human condition. I suspect it's Ant, but it could be Dec. If neither, it's Stephen Fry

    ReplyDelete